Diagramming the colonial legacy in Peru 1

Feudal IDEOLOGY OF PATRIARCHY

Mindset
WHITE MAN
wife recruited as

properties White Woman

workers officers
Colored Men military men
of the Colony soldiers
workers
wife
objects of objects of
sexual violence sexual violence

pichana
colored women lighter skinned
of the colony and higher class

less desirable
peasants

pre-colonial institutions

This diagram shows how far removed the colored women of the colony are from the
power structure that was established by the colonial masters and which power structure
continues even after the granting of independence.
In terms of race, the European colonial masters annexed new territories with the mindset
that white is equated with superiority while being colored is equated with inferiority. You notice
that in their marriage institution and with their feudal mindset during the colonial period, the
white woman shall be the wife and property of the white man while the colored woman is not
only a worker but the subject of the white man’s sexual violence. This is the difficulty when a
sector of the society is pushed down by a colonial social construct to a low level where that
sector is almost excluded from the colonial government’s perceived duty to protect the lives of
its subjects. This low regard by the colonial masters is also illustrated in how they enslaved the
peasants to serve the colonial economy.
In terms of masculinizing the colony, men were recruited as members of the military
establishment and as the reading material shows, they were oriented to the same military
culture of the colonial masters. That military culture remains even after independence. And as
regards sexual violence, the diagram shows a differentiated entitlement “enjoyed” by the military
men. You can easily notice the primacy given to the color of the skin and the demeaning label of
“less desirous women.” Patriarchy had structured the kind of “looks” one is “entitled” to in
relation to the person’s ranking in the society. What had never changed is the low regard given
to the women of color particularly the peasant women in the rural areas whose resources had
been extracted by the colonial masters and is extracted by the post-colonial state.
The lower part of the diagram shows a horizontal line and an upward arrow that does not
touch any part of the diagram. This signifies the erosion of pre-colonial institutions as they were
replaced by colonial structures.
What this diagram aims to show is the intersectionality of patriarchy, the colonial gender
construct, feudal mindset regarding the economy, and militarism in subjugating the peasant
women of Peru.
You had read about how these peasant women had been trying to navigate their way out
from a very oppressive colonial legacy using the same institution that oppresses them as their
own tool. You had seen the opposing views regarding the peasant women’s “sexualized
bodies.” For the military, such is a “weapon of war” in its fight against the insurgents; but for
some of the peasant women, the “sexualized body” is a security for the liberty of a loved one.
 Diagramming the colonial legacy in Peru 2

From this juncture, if we use the Manichean ethics (good vs. evil), it would be very easy to
condemn the women who “use” their “sexualized bodies” to gain the liberty of a relative from
prison. But if the purpose of reading the given material is to “decolonize” our minds, then we
should not be quick in judging them but to understand the historical context under which this
practice evolved and continues to be observed and the reality of gender fluidity with the
attendant local circumstances. With this in mind, you can now proceed to the next activity.

Copied below was what I posted for the Discussion Board activity of those who can access the
Canvas Course. For those who cannot access Canvas, you write your answer and send to a
classmate to react on, preferably a classmate who did not do the Canvas discussion activity.
But if the classmate to whom you sent your answer did the Canvas discussion, you ask him/her
to still react on your answer and then email the output to me. Also ask that classmate to send
his/her post in the Canvas Discussion board to you for you to react on and then email the output
to me.

In not more than 150 words, post your response to this question:

               While the benevolent state uses the legal system to address the
issue of sexual violence, what other alternatives can be used by the society to
break free from this sexual violence that is nurtured by the el patron mindset?
Defend your suggestion/s.
 
                You need to react to at least one of the posts of any of your classmates.
Remember that this activity is an academic discussion so be mindful of your language
and do not be too sensitive when a classmate does not share your views. When you
make a reaction, it is not enough to state that you agree or not. You need to state your
arguments for agreeing or disagreeing with the post.